Client
Ford Motor Company, 3M, PPG Industries, Guardian Automotive, Solutia, BOS Automotive
Project Objectives
- Examine various passive and active technologies to reduce solar heat gain into vehicle cabins
- The reduction of heat gain during a solar soak will allow the downsizing of the air conditioning system, and an increase in vehicle fuel efficiency
Summary of Project and Results (Non-Confidential)
- 2 Lincoln Navigators donated by Ford were used for comparitive testing
- The first step of the study was to identify the major pathways of solar heat gain into the vehicles
- A variety of passive technologies were then tested to measure the reduction in solar heat gain. These technologies included: reflective window shades, infrared reflective windows, cabin thermal insulation, patterned reflective glass, and infrared reflective roof films
- A variety of passive and active (fan forced) ventilation strategies were also examined to measure the reduction in heat gain
- Combinations of the various solar load reduction and ventilation technologies were found to substantially reduce cabin heat gain
Active Ventilation Experimental Setup
Lincoln Navigator Test Vehicle, Control Vehicle, and Experimental Setup